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Wendy’s Wonderful Kids™ Professionals Gather for Annual Summit 

By The Foundation

In May 2026, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption welcomed over 550 Wendy’s Wonderful Kids (WWK) recruiters and supervisors, agency administrators and post-permanency specialists to its annual summit. The event featured three days of learning, collaboration and celebration of the life-changing impact of these professionals in serving children lingering in foster care across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Thanks to the Foundation’s caring supporters, more than 16,000 children now have a permanent family with help from Wendy’s Wonderful Kids professionals.

Highlights from WWK Summit 2026 included keynote remarks from Dr. Julia Garcia, Linda Spears, Debbie Riley and Ricky Watters. 

Four diverse professionals, including a supervisor of the year, speak on stage in separate panels. They wear business attire and appear engaged, gesturing as they address an audience against bright stage lights and a blurred event backdrop.
Dr. Julia Garcia, Linda Spears, Debbie Riley and Ricky Watters

Dr. Julia Garcia kicked off Summit with a powerful message that hope isn’t something you wait for. It’s something you practice — and when you practice it, you don’t just carry it, you share it. “When you tell a kid ‘I believe in you’, you’re not just speaking to who they are — you’re speaking to who they can become,” she shared.

Summit also featured four special guests who were invited to tell their stories and share their lived experience in adopting children from foster care. That included two families who came together with help from Wendy’s Wonderful Kids – Adrian adopted siblings Isaiah, Jordan and Sophia, and Emilie and John adopted Merriah. We also heard from Ellen, whose family came together as she stepped up to provide a loving, permanent home for her grandson.

A composite image shows three pairs of speakers onstage at a professional event, including a supervisor of the year recipient: a woman with red hair at a podium, a man in a blue suit, and a duo before lit marquee letters.
Ellen, Adrian, John and Emilie

The Foundation also recognized the recipients of the 2026 Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Recruiter and Supervisor of the Year awards. Nominated by their peers and Foundation team members, the following honorees demonstrate an unparalleled commitment to achieving legal permanency for the youth in their care:

Supervisors of the Year  

Corinna from Georgia  |  Tabitha from Ontario  

Recruiters of the Year  

Molly from Iowa  |  Robin from Alabama  |  Sandra from California  |  Marieli from North Carolina

Reflecting on the commitment of Wendy’s Wonderful Kids professionals and the impact of the program, Foundation President & CEO, Rita Soronen, shared: “From all of us at the Foundation, thank you for your tireless service on behalf of children waiting in foster care, and for standing with us in the belief that unadoptable is unacceptable. Together, we continue advancing Dave’s vision that every child will have a permanent home and a loving family.”

A group of smiling women, including the supervisor of the year, pose in front of large illuminated letters spelling SUMMIT, with red, black, and white balloons and a Wendys Wonderful Kids banner in the background. Audience members take photos.
A supervisor of the year with short gray hair, wearing a dark suit, stands on stage gesturing with their hands and smiling. The background is dimly lit with soft red and purple tones.

About Wendy’s Wonderful Kids 

A rigorous, five-year national evaluation in the United States revealed that the model is up to 3x more effective at serving the longest-waiting children in care. That includes teenagers, children with special needs and siblings.

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